Memorial service to honor former IU Art Museum director

To commemorate the life of Thomas T. Solley, the former director of the IU Art Museum, there will be a memorial service Friday at 4 p.m. in the IU Art Museum's Thomas T. Solley Atrium. The event is an open memorial service for Solley, who died at his home in Switzerland on April 8 of this year. \nSolley's legacy with the IU Art Museum began in 1971 when he took the post of IU Art Museum director, a career position that he held until his retirement in 1986, according to a press release. During his tenure as the director, he added a substantial amount of artwork to the museum. \nThirty years after its 1941 opening, the museum contained about 4,000 works of art, but during Solley's 15-year involvement, the collection expanded significantly -- now containing more than 30,000 works.\n"In simple terms, every student on this campus benefits from a world class art museum in a state-supported school," Heidi Gealt, the current director of the IU Art Museum said. "We rank with the Ivy Leagues. Any student who cares about art -- part of that goes to Tom Solley. It's a great thing for them."\nInterim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Michael McRobbie said in an e-mail that this collection will inspire many generations of students to come.\nAccording to the event's press release, Solley also oversaw the move of the museum from its original location in the Fine Arts building in 1982. Toward the end of his tenure, he solidified three permanent collections that today span artwork from Oceania, Africa, Ancient Egypt and others.\n"More than half the collection is his legacy," said Gealt. "Our museum was started in 1941. He made the building possible, and he tripled the size of the collection." \nThe IU Art Museum houses works by some of the art world's most famous painters, including Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, both of whose works were acquired by Solley.\nIn celebration of all that Solley did for the museum, the first floor atrium has been named after him. The memorial service will be a school event that honors his legacy and commitment to art at IU.\n"This visually striking building is a continuing reminder of Tom Solley's legacy," McRobbie said in an e-mail. "It is, indeed, a work of architectural art brought to fruition during Tom's tenure as director of the museum, so it is only fitting that Tom's name be permanently attached to it in a very noticeable way"